Norman v. State
The First DCA reversed a summary denial of Norman's rule 3.850 motion because the postconviction court failed to give him the mandatory 60-day opportunity to amend an insufficient motion under rule 3.850(h)(2) before denying it with prejudice. The court rejected the State's argument that Spera v. State creates a 'good faith amendment' exception allowing courts to skip the amendment opportunity when amendment appears futile, holding that rule 3.850(h)(2) contains no such exception and expressly noting the Fourth DCA has taken a contrary approach (Hammond line of cases). A concurrence separately criticized the trial court's unexplained appointment of postconviction appellate counsel and defended the First DCA's Levin decision limiting the record on rule 9.141(b)(2) appeals to the enumerated documents.
Key facts
- Norman sought postconviction relief under rule 3.850, but the trial court summarily denied his motion without first giving him the opportunity to amend the insufficiencies identified in the motion.
- The postconviction court denied Norman's motion with prejudice without providing the mandatory 60-day amendment period required by rule 3.850(h)(2).
- +2 more key facts with a free trial
Why it matters
This opinion gives postconviction practitioners a clear, citable holding that trial courts in the First District may not bypass the mandatory 60-day amendment period under rule 3.850(h)(2) even where the court believes… — full analysis with a trial
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